Power Rangers Dream Team: Samurai
by nastories
Summary: Disney brain is at fault. He asked which would be our chosen ranger team for any mission and here is my answer. Watch how Lauren, Scott, Kira, Calvin and Cole join forces against the malicious Nighloks. Because of the Samurai heritage, their backstories are a bit different. For adoption.
1. Prologue: Ranger Blue

The young man took his bow, breathing slowly, he need full concentration and control. At his side, a small blue origami dragon swing slowly. Hanging from his neck was a small blue Japanese lantern, not bigger than his thumb. Surrounding him was a beautiful nature, ending with a massive waterfall and small lake.

There was no sound other than the waterfall, no distraction, just him and his targets. Tensing his weapon, he shot the first arrow, hitting right in the center of the target. Even before the first arrow landed, he started running, pointing and hitting the next. Followed with a jump, while being upside down he shot a third precise shot. The fourth target was behind him. Once he landed, he spun 180 degrees and jumped to his back. The fourth arrow hit the center but he was still not done: He landed on a resistant tree ranch and continued to climb it, reaching as high as he could. The last target was far away. He wasn't strong enough to reach so far away so he was compensation with high.

He shot his last arrow and it hit the target, just a fraction of a second after hitting, an alarm went off. "Yes!" Scott Truman shouted in victory. He had practiced these shots for months and he finally was successful. He was so happy, he lost a bit of balance and starting falling from the tree. Luckily, his samurai training permitted him use the branches to slow his fall enough to land gracefully. "That could have gone better" Said while he fixed his clothes.

Time later.

Scott was ready, taking his bags, his pendant and his blue dragon, which too form of a hexagon. He looked around, at his room. He felt some nostalgia. He had lived here his whole life. And he didn't liked it, thinking that he should be ready to leave it at any moment, be ready when the must called him having nothing making him look back. But here he was.

"Any problem?" His father appeared in the exit. Despise that his clothing was common, his posture and voice demanded respect. It was also possible that the burn scar that covered half of his face that shouted that you didn't talk him nonsense.

"No sir." He answered, with a soldier posture.

"I trust that you understand how serious the mission is from here onward."

"The future of manking counts on the Rangers. I will give my 100%"

"I am counting with you giving even more. It will take every drop of your strength and the others. Your training is not done yet, but the attacks are about to begin. Also-"

"With all due respect, I might not be the ranger you wanted on the field." Scott interrupted. "But I am the Ranger you have."

His father remained silent, with a steel look. He took Scott bags and give them at his hand. "Then prove it."

Scott hold his stare for a moment, took his bags and said yes with his head, leaving without other words. This military raising style was normal in his family, but Scott felt that maybe his father would act just a bit warmer or different. Once again, he was upset about how he felt, thinking this shouldn't be the case. He soon left the house.

"One heck of a pep talk. Wasn't it?" Scott growled tiredly. His uncle voice was unmistakable no matter where.

"It is not a good moment. At all" Scott answered, already tired of this talk

"What happens if I don't get another chance tomorrow because a missing arrow hit you?" This made Scott stop, finally turning toward his uncle. He was the opposite from his father, careless and playful, his clothes screaming thief. "Give your uncle a goodbye hug, would ya?!" He said with his arms open.

"Excuse me if I am not convinced." He answered with no emotion. His uncle Paul still put his arm on Scott shoulders.

"You know, you shouldn't pay attention to your old man. You have trained all this time for this moment, facing all his crazy challenges without complaining to your mad daddy. I believe-" Scott didn't pay him much attention at all. When his uncle took his arm off, Scott took it. He had just taken his wallet.

"You only wanted to speak." Scott said before taking it away and continued his way with haste. "A good for nothing uncle, a father that don't want to even see me-" He complained as he searched his wallet, making sure everything was in place.

Strangely, everything was there. Instead there was something more. A little folded paper. Scott took it with care and open it. He froze on his place, feeling like crying. It was a picture of his late mother. A single tear fell on his face. He dried it when he noticed it.

"I am sure my sister would be proud of you. And your father is. He is just too much of an idiot to admit it." His uncle said, putting his hand on Scott shoulder again. A good minute of silence went on. Then "But seriously, do you need those 20 dollars? Because they could come in handy." Scott only looked at him with his eyes half closed.

However, his expression turned into a smile. "Thank you" His uncle just answered with his head and both continued with his road.


	2. Prologue: Ranger Green

The forest area was silent, with the exception of the tiny animals around. The young adult moved in arms and legs like an animal, trying to use the tall grass to hide himself. His senses were as sharp as possible. Any movement at his surrounding wouldn't go unnoticed. He stood still, waiting for his opponent to move first.

He waited, and waited and waited. His body was starting to get numb. He wished he had taken a more comfortable position. A sound. For the common ear, it was nothing. For Cole, the loudest siren went off.

He lost some valuable seconds, since his body took a moment to readjust to movement. Despite that, Cole moved as fast as he could, trying to escape his predator. Nevertheless, the steps of the animal on the leaves and earth leave clear that it was much faster.

Cole only hope was get higher. There weren't any branches strong enough to take his weight. There were some a little further but he needed to hurry. Forcing his body, he felt the burn on his legs. But it worked, he was at their reach, jumping and taking them. Sadly, the feline caught him first, taking him down.

When Cole fell on the floor he didn't move, not even took a breath, waiting for the andine cat to move. The feline growled at his ear, then suddenly started licking him.

"Stop. Stop. It tickles!" Cole said between laughs

"Cooooleeee" a voice was in the distance. A somewhat old woman ran to Cole with a basket with food.

"Mom." He said. Before long, the picnic was prepared. Isabel Evans wasn't too comfortable by being so close to a carnivorous cat, no matter how much his son assure her it was harmless.

Cole saw his surroundings. It was weird that his mother had chosen so deep in the forest to do the picnic but today the battle against the nighloks started. Maybe she just wanted to make him happy? Cole wanted her to spend more time in the nature. He observed how some sunlight flowed through the trees. He might not know how to read a watch but he could know the time with just the sunlight.

"Mom, what time is it?" Cole asked.

Mrs. Evans looked nervous. "Ummm, it is one o'clock, I think. I-I don't have my watch."

Cole immediately knew that something was wrong. He jumped and started running toward the forest exit. His mother followed, thought Cole was much faster. Once outside he knew that it was much later than he thought.

"I need to hurry" Cole murmured.

"Cole, wait." His mom said.

"Mom, you knew how important my appointment today is. I can't be late."

"Don't go!" She shouted. "I beg you. I almost lost you because of this entire Samurai nonsense, monsters, and what not! I cannot lose you again." She said, with tears on his face.

Cole felt bad. He didn't wanted to just leave her like that but the Samurai thing was also important.

"Mother, listen" Cole rarely called her mother, only in the most serious times. He put both his hands in each of her shoulders. "Close your eyes." She obeyed. "Imagine the forest, the animals, plants and stones around. You can feel their movements, how each search for their food, some eat plants, others eat animals. You also hear their heartbeats, you hear *bom* *bom* everywhere, coming from them, from the tiniest to the ones that are huge. But it is not chaos. Everything is part of a rhythm. Not bad or overwhelming. It is beautiful, cozy. A balance that exists in everything. Even in big cities." Mrs. Evans did as Cole asked, surprised by what she felt. She felt peace, her face showing serenity, one that she couldn't imagine, just feel. It was all effortless which surprised her the most. It was natural.

"Suddenly, one day, you notice something different." Cole continued. "The smaller ones get out of rhythm. You hear disorder and the environment felt weird, heavy, you struggle a bit to breath. Days pass and things get worse: you can barely breath, something putrid is in the air, growing stronger as it goes on. Every heartbeat sounds wrong, everyone is afraid, worried. They all know that at any moment, something worse than any force of nature is coming. Then-" She obeyed as she was told but soon, the serenity deformed into suffering, she started shaking and air suddenly refused to enter in her lungs. A few seconds went by without being able to breath. Panic finally broke the trance, her breathing was ragged, feeling like she would faint.

He holded hair, preventing her from falling. "Mom! Mom!" He said scared.

"What—was—that?" She said between breaths.

"…It is what I feel." Cole said, his mother looking her at his eyes. "I always felt that connection with everything and the closer we get to this day, the more messed up it gets. I can't ignore it. No just because of my samurai heritage, but because I want to. I get you are afraid. I don't want to leave. But I promise you I will be back." She remained silent. Cole couldn't keep waiting. Maybe if he was fast enough he could get his things and get to the Shiba house in time.

"Wait." Isabel begged. A little later, she took him to her car. There she had his bags ready with Cole´s stuff, including his origami green bear and his little Japanese green lantern pendant. "I didn't know why I brought them beforehand. Now I know."

"Mom. You are amazing!" He exclaimed. He tried to take them but she stopped him again.

"Promise me you will be careful." She said with motherly severity.

"Yes mom." He answered mechanically

"And promise you will call me regularly to know how you are."

"Yes mon."

"And promise me you will bath with water, soap and shampoo everyday."

"Mooom" He growled softly, incapable of hiding his haste or frustration.

She sighed, knowing she was stalling. "Go and good luck."

Cole took his stuff, but not before hugging his mother with strength without harming her. "I will be back when it is over."

And with that, he and the feline left.

"And don't forget to use the bathroom for number one and two!" She shouted one last time, with her hand on her chest, worried about Cole´s future.


	3. Prologue: Ranger Pink

I need to apologize to any reader for this sudden change. I initially wanted Emma on the role of the pink ranger and I actually posted this first page as hers. But the more I think about it, I feel this role should go to Kira from Dino Thunder, a ranger I only thought about today. The story should remain relatively the same but a little better, but I have my doubts about if I can write her correctly. Without more, enjoy

* * *

The blond hair girl was lying on her bed, tired. On the night table at her side was an origami turtle, swinging slowly. Kira Ford took her pillow and threw it at the paper creature, thought it simply avoided it effortlessly.

From there, she heard the screams in the next room. Her mother talked about how generations prepared themselves for the arrival of the nighloks and now that the time had come, her daughter would go to her destiny. Her father, on the other hand, talked about how he couldn't let his beloved daughter put herself in a danger like this, at least without her consent. His biggest problem with her was that his wife had just closed the door to his daughter´s opportunity in her life.

Kira just wished for them to stop fighting. The fights were present since she was a child but her parents used to hide their anger better. There were also ways to make both of them happy, like the intense training imposed by her mother or by being a perfectly normal girl like her father wanted her to be. Things hadn't escalated until just a few weeks. Now there was only shouts, fights and more screams. In a few hours, the nighloks would attack. But Kira was anything but prepared.

"Daughter" Mrs. Ford entered her room.

"Yes?" Kira answered, trying to sound calm, thought her red eyes didn't help.

"Are you fine?" She asked.

"Peachy" She commented without energy.

"Listen, I know you must be afraid-" Kira raised her sight a little. "-Our family might have trained for generations for this day, but nothing can truly prepare you for what is to come. I admit I didn't thought I would live to the day we see the enemy. Nevertheless, you must know that this is a huge honor. One opportunity in a century. Not everyday you could say you make a prophecy true or that you fight to save the world. It is a job, yes, but a great honor too."

*Again with the great honor* Kira thought. She had heard the speech her whole life. She let her mom go on for how long she wanted. She had never told her how little she really cared about the heritage thing. But she couldn't just ignore it. She was afraid, too afraid; she wanted someone to take her place. But that was the thing, no one could take her place. If she didn't, it meant the rangers would be one warrior short. Failing meant the end of mankind. Emma couldn't do more but smile the best she could and concentrate on other things.

"Wait." Kira´s father entered the room. "I think she needs to be able to decide…"

"I will do it." Kira said, almost sounding confident

His father looked sad at her. "Kira, you don't have to pretend you are fine."

"I will do it. I am ready for this."

*That`s my girl.* Mrs. Ford thought.

"Then I will take you there." Her father said. The ma'am of the house observed him with a calculative eye. "Don't worry. Kira will do what is right." He answered, imagining what she was thinking.

The mother wasn't confident but she believed that she could trust both. The mister and his daughter took the car. The trip was silent and short, no one willing to say anything. Suddenly, the car stopped. Kira looked at him with surprise. They were close to the train station.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Kira said, nervous. However, his father eyes were full of kindness.

"Tell me. Do you really wish to do this?" Her father asked with severity.

"Dad, I have to go."

"Have? Or want?" he made the precise question.

"Of- of course I want to." Kira tried to repair. Then, the mister took out some train tickets. The young adult looked at him like he was an alien. "Are you completely crazy?! I can't… you… this… urrrgg" She didn't know how to take this, her head screaming ten different and conflicting things.

"Kira, I told your mother that you would do what is right. With that I didn't mean what mankind would want or her or any samurai tradition. I want you to do what you think is the right thing and what you want. That why I am giving you a choice. Something your mom refuses to give." He explained. Emma still didn't answer. "I have a shack at the north. We would stay there a while, until the guy with the musical contract come about." Kira raised her head, her eyes filled with light for once. She gaped, not believing what she heard

"How?" that was all she could say.

"I talked to the managers after your mother talked them down. They really wanted you with them." He commented.

The couldn't process everything that happened just now. Words simply refused to get out. She need a good while to process everything fully. Even then, all she could muster was a tiny murmur. "I need time."

"I know. That's why we left early. I will return home thought to cover."

"I understand" Kira said without more and left the car with her bags and guitar in hand. Her father was still concern for her. He watched her through the window. He wished he could just take the decision for her, as if she was a little girl. But she wasn't. She needed to decipher things herself. She needed to take her own decisions. She had to decide for the world or her dream.


	4. Prologue: Ranger Yellow

Literal mountains of trash tossed everywhere until the eye can reach; stenches drilling into your nose without you even wanting; sometimes, at the sides of your eyes, you could see plagues like rats running around. People really did not like junkyards; Calvin himself wasn't too fond of them. The reasons he was in here were simple: it was cheaper finding pieces here than anywhere else and he had an eye for things in a relatively good state that could be restored.

Cars spare parts where expensive but it was his passion. Just like any kid, he played with cars since small but he never grew tired of them. He just wanted to discover more about them and create more. He could name almost any brand of car, its origin, inventor, in between many other details that not everyone knows. Many thought he was obsessive and while that could be true he didn't let that bother him at all. Right now, he just focused in getting the pieces he needed.

It was quite: few people would be there so Calvin had him for himself. He just walked, found the pieces that looked salvageable and continued his way. Suddenly, he felt a strike on his head. It felt like something thing but solid had hit him,

"Auuuuuch" He said slowly and softly. He looked behind him and saw a short and fatty woman with an edgeless wood sword. It was his mother, Mrs. Maxwell.

"I knew I would found you here losing your time!" She said severely. "Do you know what time it is?"

Calvin always had a watch with him, because he could easily losing the time notion with his passion. The idea was to have something to avoid that. The plan was not working, obviously. "Two and a half?" He said, not realizing the problem.

"And what day is today?"

"Today is…." Calvin checked again. It was then that panic started to get to him, realizing he had forgotten something very important. "Crap."

His room was a disaster, papers, posters, clothes and boxes of empty food on the floor, nothing that out of the ordinary for a young adult. Now that was the huge problem since he couldn't find anything that he wanted. He was doing many things at once, trying to prepare clothing for days, wash his teeth and find his special equipment for the mission.

"Where is it? Where is it? Where is it?" He said, each time faster, more desperate and it sounded strange since he still had his toothbrush in his mouth.

"And why this happens?" His mother said while looking from the door.

"Because I don't prepare things with time." He replied. It was the story of his life. He was tired and bored of hearing it all the time. It was still truth but it was tiresome. "You know, you could help me find my gear faster."

"You are not a kid anymore, not to mention you are a samurai. If you can't kept things at your reach, How are you going to save the world?"

And that was another thing he had been chastise for his entire life. Although, once again, she was right. Calvin didn't liked it but his mother rarely was wrong about what she complained. He just sighed and continued his search. Luckily, an origami yellow monkey appeared on the shelf, with a tiny yellow Japanese lamp.

"Oh, thank god!" Calvin exclaimed. Then his own monkey threw at his face, attaking him. "Au, au, au, au. I get it. Everyone is mad at me for being careless! Stop it already!" He shouted in the middle of the attack. The paper monkey jumped back where he was, leaving Calvin with small paper cuts. He was still relieved that they entered on his package. "Ok, now only the toothbrush is missing." He said and then it repeated that same process of `Where is it?´ again. After a minute, his mother made a throat cleaning sound. The young man looked at her and she made a gesture on her face. Calvin did the same as her and finally realized that he had the wanted object on his mouth. He was really ashamed for not realizing it before.

He put everything he needed on his bags and run toward his car. "Calvin Maxwell!" His mother called just before he sat on the driver´s seat. The young blond gulped. Nothing to make you feel like you were going to get nagged like being called by your full name.

"Did I forget something else?" He asked, ready for whatever she might say.

"Yes." She replied. Then she hugged him. He was a little surprised but joined her soon.

"I promise I will be careful"

"Of course you will. I raised you after all." Her words might had been demanding, but her tone was soft, sweet and comprehensible. "Just get there as soon as possible."

"Got it." Then they let go each other. He sat on the car and turned it on. He took a moment to let go of a held air he didn't know he had. He wasn't sure what to expect from his future partners. Would they be flawed like him or perfect? In particular, he was worried about a certain person that he had met before. However, with time still pressing, he started mover his car.


	5. Prologue: Ranger Red

Wanna listen to a story? I know one, one that I have heard all my life. There was a young samurai who lived and served the Shogun and the Emperor of Japan for years. It didn't mattered who was his enemy, the mission, the danger, nothing mattered. Everything that existed was his lords and their wishes. Well, almost everything. If the young man loved something, it was origami. From a very young age, he learned to make them, their different types, stories, origins and representations. Ancient Japanese traditions suggest that these tiny paper objects had their own life. A little partner made of paper. Sadly, it was obvious that these little pieces of paper that he loved so much wouldn't bring food to the table.

Then, he lost everything, or rather, he lost himself. He fought in a boat against invaders, fighting bravely. Nevertheless, the boat was damaged and he lost consciousness on some pieces of the ship, being taken by the sea who knows where. When he regained his senses, he found himself in a foreign and disturbed land, since he was found by some weird red monsters, experts in the art of swordfight. The monsters were identical the one another. They were strong but the samurai was stronger. It couldn't be said the same about the other monsters, who were the leaders of the little ones. They gave our hero a figth to the brink of dead. One he could not win. He could barely escape that first fight, saved by a young boy who couldn't speak, at least in a humanly manner. He used the thick jungle to hide themselves from the monsters. The jungle covered the greatest part of this island. Soon, the beast boy went away, leaving the samurai alone. Then, he discovered something terrifying.

He had arrived at the edge of the island, at its beach. From there, he could see the other islands around it. It was an archipelago composed by 5 islands; the biggest of them in the middle was also much larger than the others. Said island was completely antinatural: its sky the a reddish coloration at all times, you could see the rest of the sky was blue even during the day; the water had a red wine coloration too; the plants that were visible were dead, dry and lifeless; boats made out of skeletons were ashored. Like I said, it was completely antinatural.

Talking with the natives, he got an explanation. Nighlocks. The red strange monsters were known as mugers, low level soldiers. The minor islands were slowly being taken over by the monsters. The more people they capture, the more misery they create and the darkness of the main island spread further. Our hero felt something that he had never felt at that moment. The young warrior had never fight for something aside his lords or his stomach, he felt when he choose to fight for something that was simply the right thing. At the beginning, he wasn't capable of much. He tried to save the people, tried to protect them, sometimes he achieved it but he also lost many others. But soon, other joined his mission: the wild boy that he met at the beginning, a young and skilled archer, a fisherman that loved earth just as much as the sea, and a young woman who was unpredictable and changing, lacking a few marbles on her head, as a result of the terrible attacks but always on their side. They were at his side during the most challenging fights and managed to lift their spirits the one another during the hardest times.

Then, the Wiseman appeared, as the story calls him. He is the one who connected the morphing grid of the power rangers to a few Japanese Lanterns, that would represent the brilliant light during the darkest hours. He also transformed some of the origami that the samurai made into their giant partners, the megazords. After that, it was up to the samurai to teach them kanji which turned into their symbol power. It was a difficult fight, but the power rangers were able to take the victory away from master Xandred by sealing him. Sealing, being the key word.

During each century, the symbol weakens until it breaks. There is no way to predict it, only the mentor is capable to knowing when it will break. There isn't an exact pattern, nevertheless, each time they set free it is the ranger duty to stop them. That is my duty. My name is Lauren Shiba, I am the red ranger of this generation. I am the direct descendant, the reincarnation of the original red ranger that saved the islands we now defend.

The Shiba house was built at the edge of a massive cannon. It was formed with the pass of years, because the Sanzu river starts flooding there during each battle. The erosion of the toxic river formed it. The canyon must first be flooded before the water spreads to other areas. During the first few centuries, the number of people wasn't much but within time, the islands became densely populated. Meaning that the nighlocks have more negative energy to feed from. To make things worse, Panorama city was built just a few kilometers away from the canyon, which means that the nighlocks have a place to attack just next to their river and the city would start terraforming after the canyon starts brimming a little. Not just that, but while the river must start in the canyon, the nighlocks can appear from a good distance from it, wich means they have an area to cause panic just around the corner.

I mean, Who thought building a city where it would be victimize by monsters at any moment of their lives? Are they really that confident on the capacities of the rangers to come and save their lives from an attack? Does no one understands the gravity of the situation now that the enemies could feed with such ease that it could devastate the city with a little misstep?!

*Ejem* I apologize for that. It´s just, I am terrified. I must learn to work with 4 strangers, avoiding that the river grow to protect the people of the city. I have trained for it: I know every power symbol I might need; I have trained to the body perfection, breaking my bones and suffering for the never ending training; I learnt the sealing symbol, the only weapon capable of stopping of stopping Master Xandred. I should be perfectly ready, but even though I am absolutely terrified. Afraid of failing, leading the team wrongly, losing someone.

* * *

Author note: So, for the most part, this episode was to place the story at somewhere, something I will need later. A little of setup here and there. There wasn´t going to be a ranger red episode, so the next chapter will be coming quite soon.


	6. Samurai Forever part 1

The blonde sat on her legs, meditating. Her house was a little different from what you expect from a modern house: Some kind of modern version of a Japanese middle-size house, mostly build from wood. The complete structure had plenty of fusumas, sliding doors and windows, traditional from Japan. The garden was quite big, the grass meticulously cut to give a better sense of order, rock roads to avoid steping on the plants and a big square close to the building to serve as a training area.

Today, in one hour, the nighlocks would start attacking. Lauren summoned the other four families´ representatives. They should arrive at any minute. Her posture and calm but usually serious expression wouldn't betray any emotion, but she was far from at ease.

"Lauren?" Someone talked behind her. Her mentor and childhood friend, Ji. "Anxious?"

"No master. I am at ease." She answered, sounding confident. However, Ji continued his stare at the girl, to what her face started to break a little. His expression wasn't like threatening or demanding, it was an expression of knowing and understanding. "Maybe a little?" It sounded more like a question than an answer.

"I know. But relax. You are as ready as you can be. Now, it all depends on how well the other families did their job and how well you work together. That is mostly up to you" That´s what terrified Lauren. She had trained alone for her whole life. With exception of Ji, she had had barely any contact with other people, much less close and serious relationships. Now, they were asking her to work with four strangers who she didn't knew anything aside from what training their families were supposed to teach them?

Before she knew it, someone had arrived. She took a breath and moved toward the door. Scott Truman had arrived in his red sports car.

"The Shiba house. At least the last name makes sense." He commented to himself while looking at the big Japanese style house. The doors started to open. A look at his pendant was enough for the blond girl, learning that he was the blue ranger. For generations, he was known as the serious and disciplined member of the team. A good second in command to the red ranger.

*You know what to do* She thought. "Come in." She said in a low voice. Scott did as asked. "Welcome to the Shiba house. My name is Lauren Shiba. I am the red ranger." Lauren explained while showing her own red lantern. Scott immediately let go a chuckle. "Excuse me? Is something suppose to be funny?" Lauren asked, already not liking where this was going.

"I am sorry but… you are a girl." Scott commented as if it was obvious.

Ji, on the distance, facepalmed. *Is he seriously the blue ranger? Of all the rangers?*

Minus than one minute with her new rangers and Lauren was already upset with him. Still, she didn't let him notice the strike to her composture. "I assure you blue ranger. The fact that I am a girl won´t hindrance the mission. I would like to know your name thought, since I already told you mine." She answered.

*A stuck-up. But her answer was good* Scott thought. "My name is Scott Truman. Now what?"

"You are the first ranger to arrive. I asked all the rangers to meet here. I wanted to ask you something and I would prefer to do it before the first attack." She explained. Ji then moved closer to them. "This is our mentor, Ji."

"My pleasure." Was all Ji said.

"Ji feels how the seal put by the last red ranger weakens as days go by. According to him, it will fully break within an hour. That is when the nighlocks will be ready to attack."

"So, now we just wait?" Scott asked, showing some dissatisfaction.

Suddenly, the alarm on the car of Scott went off, followed by a shout of pain and ending with a loud crashing sound. The two rangers ran out of the house and saw a young man lying on Scott´s car, the tip on his hair had a tiny flame. The cat accompanying him licked the fire off. Scott grabbed his hair.

"My car." He said with incredulity. Lauren now was chuckling when she was not being seen, enjoying his reaction more than she expected.

The boy in green rose and looked at the car, apparently unscathed. "Sorry about that." Was all he said.

"And I will be sorry…" Scott moved closer, angry, at least until his cat growly menacingly at him. The blue ranger took a few steps back from it. "You brought your pet here?"

"It is a wild animal. It is not my pet." Scott commented with a smile, petting the animal head. It actually looked like he was enjoying it, selling more the idea that it indeed was his pet.

*Of course.* Lauren thought. *Weird behavior, strong connection with animals, unorthodox personality.* "You are the green ranger."

Cole then took out his green lantern. "And you guys are?" They did the same, showing their respective colored lanterns. "My name is Cole Evans. I hope we can work together." He said in a much calm and collected manner.

"Do you have any opinion on our new boss?" Scott asked. Lauren gave him a killer stare by the sides of her eyes, to what Scott only answered with a satisfied smile.

"No?" Cole said, more like a question than answer.

"Not even the fact she is a girl?"

"The female of many animal species are more capable than the males. I think we are in good hands." Cole commented like he had answered any other question, but that didn't avoid Scott from feeling like the joke blew on his face.

"Wait, why did you fall on his car?" Asked Lauren

"Oh, it was getting late so I tried to use the car to jump above the gate but I felt an electric shot when I tried and fall back on the car."

Lauren couldn't hide her surprise in her face. She knew the green ranger would be unpredictable. So far he was making honor to the title. "The house has protective seals against any invasor. It will only accept us until someone invite us in for the first time."

"…Oh." Was all Cole said.

* * *

They spent the next half an hour waiting for the other rangers, no one else appeared. As time went by, Cole was getting more and more impatient, accompanied by the cat. Out of nowhere, he shouted to the sky, something comparable to some kind of roar and walked toward Lauren, who was sitting like before.

"Are you seriously just gonna stay there doing nothing?" Cole challenged. Lauren wasn't shaken by him.

"There is still time." She answered.

"I don't think it is that big of a problem, having to repeat yourself, is it?" Scott joined.

"It is true that time is running thin. We were perfectly conscious that this might happen." Ji commented. In contrast to the rangers, the mentor reached Lauren easily.

She stood up and said. "I need to ask you a question. We all had heard the traditions about how our families fought the nighlocks while growing up. I don't want you to accompany me in this crossroad because of that. Do not accept the mission because you were raised to do so. Do it because you want to. You all have lives aside from being a samurai and I can imagine that more than one would prefer to return to that one.

"… If we are not in this fight, people will die, animals will die, and the environment would be completely destroyed. I won't let that happen." That was Cole answer.

"Listen, there is no place I would rather be than here right now. You wouldn't have me here if I were having second guesses." Scott answered.

"I guess I can't ask for more. Show your lanterns." She ordered. They did as ask, extending they arms and showing their respective lamps. Lauren had hers between her index, middle and thumb fingers. The lamp suddenly transformed, fluidly deforming and reforming into some kind of red paper pen. Once in that new form, Lauren started to make fast movements with the pen, in front of her an ethereal figure formed, strokes made of real fire appeared with her movements, a symbol in kanji forming in the end. "Symbol power: Unleash!" She shouted. With a last sudden movement with her arm, the kanji divided in two, reaching the two young adults. It landed on the lamps. They jumped a little because of the explosion of light on their hands. When it ended, they checked their own lamps and even also put them into pen mode.

"They don't feel any different." Scott commented.

"Your morphers were sealed, a defensive mechanism to avoid the abuse of power before the arrival of the nighlocks. Now, after writing your family Kanji, you will be transformed into Power Ragners Samurai. Like this." She exclaimed. She quickly wrote her symbol, which fall on her, turning her into the Red Ranger.

"…If the morphers were sealed to avoid missuses, Does that mean that you did something wrong with them?" Scott commented. Sadly, he couldn't see her reaction because of the mask. Lauren moved her head toward him.

"Just transform. I would rather see if you are capable of morphing before the battle. Just for safety."

The male rangers exchanged looks. Cole took the initiative. He wrote his symbol, not having problems to turn himself into the green ranger. He took a moment to check himself out. "Incredible." He said, with a tone of surprise. Then he started jumping as high as he could, enjoying every second of it. "This. Is. Amazing."

Scott, on the other side, seemed to have problems. For some reason, he couldn't maintain the seal: the more strokes he added, the more visible the strain became, incapable to end the drawing before the energy vanished, Scott running out of air when it happened. "Any problem blue ranger?"

"None." He answered disdainful. He took a large breath of air, trying to be as calm as possible. He restarted the process, doing slower but surely movements. Finally, he finished the drawing. "No problem." Scott commented, thought you could still notice his breath shortness.

"Very well. I will be honest: I hoped that the team would be complete. But that doesn't mean that we are weaker than the enemy. It doesn't matter what they throw at us, we must remember that before anything." Lauren then looked at Scott. "We will go transformed this time to avoid problems."

"One more thing before you leave." Ji called the attention of the three. "Remember rangers, the red ranger will be the target of the nighlocks. It is your duty to protect her at all times."

"We are a team. I don't need a special treatment." Lauren looked offended by what he said.

"Why is that?" Scott asked.

"The red ranger is the only person with the power to seal the nighlocks. The sealing symbol. Nevertheless, it will only work on Master Xandred. Can I count on you two to protect her until then?"

Cole and Scott nodded at him. "Move out!" Lauren demanded, an edge on her voice. Once out, Scott needed a moment to look at his car. He was thankful that he still was wearing his power suit, for the moment.

Cole put his hand on Scott´s shoulder. "I didn't know you cared that much for it." He said in a solemn way. If you could see Scott face behind the mask, you would see a face of surprise behind it. "Neither I understand it, honestly. How you can care so much for an inanimate object."

"I don't know what you are …" Scott started but Cole whispered the next.

"Don't worry. I won't tell Lauren you cried in silence." Cole said, with no malice on his tone. Scott was left gaping, though no one could see it.

Fortunely for Scott, a black car with the Power Ranger Samurai at its side appeared, interrupting the awkward event. "Get in gentlemen."

"… I wasn't expecting that." Cole commented.

"What were you expecting? To go into the city riding horses while morphed?"

* * *

Later.

The rangers were still on the car, at the downtown. Lauren was still driving. "All right. Cole, your senses should help us find the nighlocks the moment they appear. Guide us there to minimize collateral damage."

"Got it." Answered.

"I await instructions."

"I will tell you when I find them."

"When you what…?" Lauren said in a soft voice, checking behind and realizing that Cole had literally left the moving car by the window, jumping and reaching a light post and then jumping from the object like a monkey wearing a green suit. Now, the whole city looked both the car where he came from and the jumping teen leaping from one place to another.

"We should have seen that coming." Scott commented.

Lauren growled with anger, putting her hand on the visor of the helmet. She couldn't believe what had just happened. She hoped to be able to not call the attention before the attacks began. *But noooo, I can't even keep two rangers at check. What would have happen with a full team?* "Cole, don't get too far. I don't want them to ambush you." She said in a tired manner.

"Don't lose your head yet, boss." Scott said. Lauren imagined he had a smile because of how he said that.

"That won't be a problem." She said. Then there was a bit of silence before Scott talked again with, no longer in a joking manner.

"Why didn't you want us to know you had the sealing symbol?" He asked. "It is a really important detail to not let us know. The strategic plan of the enemy would be finding a way to take you down immediately."

"Because we are a team. I might be the leader but I am not more important than any of you. I will take us to victory without losing any of you guys. Also, I am capable of taking care of myself really well. I don't need to be protected."

"So, you would jeopardize the whole world for protecting the few ones that are supposed to be ready to die for the mission?"

"Would you be comfortable to sacrifice your underlines life just to save yourself?"

"Do you have anything to prove boss?" He asked, in a manner that sounded like a change of topic.

"No, I don't." She answered, a little hastily and frustrated.

"Lauren, you don't know how to lie. Even with the helmet I can say that much." The red ranger was taken aback by this statement. She went silent, not sure what to answer. "We are not what you expected, right?" he started but she didn't answer. "You expected us to be more disciplined. You expected the team to arrive on time for the mission. You expected a more serious group. You were not expecting me to question your leadership from the moment we met."

"…I was expecting that they would at least arrive at the house and then someone would accept the offer of abandoning the rangers. Those are good manners." Lauren sounded a little vulnerable.

"If you think you already don't have control, then you better prepare for the war of your life." This last line was told in between laughs but it was heavy on Lauren shoulders.

"I found them!" Lauren was so relieved to listen to her ranger. "About 200 meters to the northeast. They are coming from a crack on the floor! Aaaaaaah!"

"Cole!" Lauren shouted. She quickly changed gears on the car, stepping on the gas. She got as close to Cole position as she could. Then her whole world turned upside down, literally. The building at her side turned into shambles, giant pieces of debris and dust were thrown when the big nighlock came through it, hitting the car and putting it upside down.

"Is this what the master is so worried about?" A bunch of losers, that's what they are." Lauren listen as she tried to regain composture after the blow. The feet of the monster appeared just by the window of the driver´s seat. "Well, as long as I eliminate the red ranger, the game is over and I become a legend!"

* * *

Author note: it feels like I wrote Cole a little too childish and I don´t even begin to understand how to write Scott. I hope next chapter come much sooner, but no promises.


	7. Farewell

**This is me, putting an end to this fanfic.**

This over here was meant to be an evaluation, planning to post it when I reached the half-way point of the story. The thing is, I lost the will to continue it a while ago. My other fanfics took priority and I find myself with less and less time, and more things I want to write. But all things considered, this was a harder decision than I expected. While I might be just boasting my ego, I think I had something good here. And if anyone wants it, you can make the story yours. Here I present most of the stuff I had planned for this story. I apologize to anyone hopping for more.

 **The reason why I picked the Samurai Season:**

I know people think that the Power Rangers Samurai season is bad and, honestly, compared to the majority of the best seasons, it is very lackluster. But I hold it in a special part of my heart honestly, as it revived my Power Ranger love. I loved power rangers from its beginning until SPD, however, for some reason, I stopped to love the series after that.

I remember thinking that PR Mystic Force was rather boring, thinking that it was too ridiculous with its fire soccer and other stuff, thought I remember enjoying it more as the series went on. There was also a lot of PR on TV at the time: I don't know how it was in the U.S.A or other countries, but in Latin America it got to a point where they would air every day one episode of the four most recent PR seasons, so I had plenty of opportunities to watch the series.

Then, came Operation Overdrive. I remember watching how they earned each of the pieces of the crown, but I also missed plenty of episodes. To give an idea of how much, I never heard about Drax, the son of Lord Zed and Rita until I saw him on a video many years later.

It got worse with Jungle Fury, I remember watching it but losing interest mid-way. The fact that JF would eventually be only aired at 7:30 Am didn't help the series at all. It wasn't an excuse however since Digimon Data Squad last bits were also aired at that time and I watched it all either way. Poor RPM however got it worst since I never saw a single episode on its original run.

After that, it felt quite a long time before I watched another PR episode, like more than it really was now that I think about it. But then…

While changing channels I found this new PR season. I don't know exactly what caught me back at that moment: Maybe it was the concept of the powers being a heritage that everyone seems to love, me included; maybe it was the idea of writing in Japanese to trigger their powers (I love anime); maybe it was the sick return of the original opening song that hit my nostalgia the hardest; maybe it was just the idea of PR returning to my TV after what felt like an eternity. I just enjoyed it a lot.

This led me to rewatch some of the older seasons, especially RPM, which now ranks high and very far away from the rest of the series as my favorite. I have returned and gone back to the other series (and realize that my childhood and my actual tastes are so different right now, God knows I can't stand MM nowadays), as well of giving a chance to the newest seasons, but my love for PR is not nearly as strong as it was when I was a kid.

I remember, however, hating the treatment they gave Lauren in the series, the only real thing I would hate on that season (I normally have low standards for PR). This actually led me to think this concept using the idea of Power being given to your kids, like the fact that the Ranger duty goes on the family in PR Samurai. It was more like medieval knights idea, rather than a PR or Samurai one.

I never gave much thought to that concept, sadly. I had the bases, four different characters with different powers and their dynamics with their families and between themselves, but I didn't even have a clear villain. So when DB asked which team of rangers we would pick for a series in particular, I thought, *why not apply these bases back to the ranger universe?* and so, this fanfic started formulating. The rangers and my OC didn't exactly fit: there were some surprisingly good matches and others that really didn't made sense at all.

 **My choice of rangers**

Let's start with the blue ranger: The blue one was actually the leader on the idea I formulated. He was the second kid of the couple, because of that, he wasn't supposed to receive any of the family training, only the older brother does. In the tradition, a second son was seen as an ill omen; his father in particular hated him because his younger brother actually murdered his parents and almost got him too. He wanted to get rid of the blue one but his mother convinced him not to.

The kid would grow up, getting hate from his father, but his mother and brother would always be kind with him. His mother also had a combat talent, archery, the one skill he excels at and the only skill his father permit him to learn. However, when the time of the fights was about to start, the older brother became ill, unable to fight. This was always a possibility and the second kid would have to take the place. However, the father didn't train him in any of the skills that came in his blood line, even when this situation presented. It was up to the brother to prepare him as much as he could before the fight for his life started.

As for his personality, while he would be respectful, even reserved with his family, he would be fairly annoying to his peers and friends: he is a loudmouth, always saying whatever comes to his mind without thinking it much, full with wise-crack remarks and complaining left and right just about anything. He would be the weakest fighter of the group, because he had the least amount of training, but he would be an excellent strategist, a quick thinking shot caller and an even better archer. He would also show that he cared greatly about his people and have a constant desire to keep improving to show them how much he values the fact to be called their leader.

My first thought was that it should be Sky from S.P.D. From the very beginning, I wanted to put my choice for the red ranger as the leader, so watching how Sky was questioning his red ranger left and right, I thought it was going to be a good choice. That's also the reason why the first thing the blue ranger told the red was about her sex, since it was something he did. Next I thought about Cam from Ninja Storm, the idea of having an evil uncle on his family felt kind of poetic and a good idea. Then I finally thought the right ranger:

Scott Truman from R.P.M.

I was really surprised how well he fitted: having an older brother he looked up and a difficult father relationship, even seeing how Scott started not that respectful for his partners made enough sense to me. The reason though why it took me long to choose Scott is actually the fact that, while I love RPM, I have always seen Scott as the weak link in that team, believe it or not. He doesn't start as a great ranger in my opinion and by the time he starts improving, the rest of the team had left me a much better impression. I am also quite afraid of writing this guy, I felt like he is too complex for me to write correctly. Like I could not make him justice if I wasn't careful or didn't give him enough thought. He usually keeps his real feelings hidden. Honestly, the rangers probably didn't notice much change in him during the whole duration of the series. His father however, certainly noticed, so bringing a person from his past to the team who could notice the changes he goes would work well. It was even better since the yellow one would be a childhood friend of the blue one, so I worked with that.

The yellow one was your equivalent of a comic book nerd, loving the idea of adventure, being quite goofy and easily the most careless member of the team. However, he would be like the heart of the team, constantly wanting to help and understand his partners. Like I mentioned, the yellow one would be a close friend to the blue one, probably the only one of the rangers that understood what happens in the blues head. His mother would be annoyed by his laziness and lack of discipline, but would understand that his personality goes more on par with that of his father, something that she thinks will be necessary for the mission.

My initial choice for this spot was actually Xander Bly from Mystic Force, he was goofy and undisciplined enough at the beginning for the spot, but the yellow would be the first to open up to the red one. On the original idea, the red one was the last the join the group, which led to some trouble with the rest of the group, and it was the yellow one who wanted to know her better at the beginning. I thought, since Xander also was an outsider at some point, would be fitting for such position.

I decided against him and went directly to the yellow male rangers for other potential candidates. Chip and Dustin from Mystic Force and Ninja Storm seemed as great candidates, but one other yellow ranger won above the rest.

Calvin Maxwell from Ninja Steel.

He actually won for two simple reasons: one was the fact that he was a person interested in driving and cars, an instant point of connection with Scott. The second was that he felt like he could do the job, while also adding a bit of mechanical skill, without being a really great mechanic like Noah or Billy. I was against the idea of having any tech-savvy rangers other than the gold ranger, but I thought that putting a not so capable one could serve just fine and help to my narrative.

Next was the green ranger. He was pretty much a wilder version of Bridge from S.P.D. Instead of having a power to see energy, auras, whatever that was, he was capable of watching the soul of people, watching how they felt and stuff like that. Think of the Eagle Vision in the assassins creed games. I tone that power quite a bit and change it to some kind of sixth sense. The choice was obvious.

Cole Evans from Wild Force.

It was a bit underwhelming. I considered putting another ranger like Koda from Dino Charge, but there was only one real choice in this place. For info on the green one, he was like Bridge, as I said. He was quirky, fairly unpredictable and even a bit of a wild card with his own allies, but in the end you knew his intentions were good. However, how he became like that was a bit more messed up than you would initially think.

When he was barely a baby, the father, who was the one with the family ties to the Knights, took him to the wild to fend for his life from the very beginning. He developed his power from living in the wild and away from the people. That why he is so socially awkward. His mother, after that, would get revenge on him, and would be excessively protective with the child she lost for so many years, only making the matter worst.

Finally, we got to my red one. Here there was only one ranger I wanted in this position.

Lauren Shiba from Samurai.

The whole point of the story was that Lauren was misused in the PR canon. However, I must admit the red one was very different from Lauren. The red one was very hot headed and violent. Think of her more like Jen from Time Force and Taylor from Wild Force, but subtract a bit of the experience and the sense of leadership they had. She was very demanding and fairly violent, something that my version of Lauren still carries to some degree.

However, the red one would come to the group after they had a dynamic formed, and she would clash with the entire group at the beginning. I initially thought of having all the rangers but Lauren know each other, making her feel even more left out and alone. I am a bit disappointed that my red ranger is very different since Lauren has this sense of calm, she seems uncertain at times, but to the point where she feels human, like, she is the most aware of the stakes. Her family issues would be even more complicated.

If you noticed earlier, however, I mentioned that there would be only four characters, but Samurai has 6 rangers. Here I borrowed from Disney Brain and thought of adding a ranger that wasn't fully into the idea of being part of the team and a tech savvy ranger. So, first comes the pink one.

Kira Ford from Dino Thunder.

She is, as far as I can remember, the only ranger who didn't accept the powers initially and was ready to leave them there and there at the beginning. Initially, she would want to just leave the team, but at the same time, she imagines that leaving the team would put them in a serious disadvantage. I thought that maybe, after seeing that they were fine, she would just leave the team for a while, but constantly think about how they were doing and eventually return and join fully. I thought that wouldn't fit her though. This is why I wanted Emma on the team: because MegaForce barely did anything with her, I feel like I can give any character direction I want. She did also felt wrong to write this way, so I did something different.

In the end, Kira probably has the weakest family arc since, well, she wasn't planned to begin with. After her first dilemma, her development would serve as Lauren's confident, helping her discharge her doubts and weaknesses, similar to how she helped Trent in Dino Thunder.

Finally here comes the Gold ranger, the Tech savvy one. Here I kept finding problems: I wanted something similar to Anthonio from Samurai, but not him either since I had Lauren already, so I would break the one ranger per season rule. This also meant I wanted something else than the expected nerdy ranger like Noah or Billy and wanted him to be a male so rangers like Ms. Morgan from Dino Charge was out too. As PR fans know, the sixth ranger is usually one of the strongest members of the team. I wanted to change that, having him being the weakest at the team, making more sense than Anthonio being equally as strong as the others. Here I found some troubles, not quite satisfied with any of the rangers in the past, so I went with…

Trip for Time Force.

He is probably one of the least physically imposing rangers ever, so he fitted well in that regard. For the story however, I needed a reason why he has green hair, something related to one of the best ideas that Samurai brought. Aside from that, his story would be similar to Anthonio: He would be the tech savvy ranger, helping them a lot in getting the new zords, however, he would be less combat capable than the rest, a bit like Ziggy. Each member of the team would treat him differently, all having a very different opinion of him.

 **Dynamics**

Lauren and Scott: Scott would easily be the most demanding ranger to Lauren, constantly challenging her leadership, skills and such. Scott would be much weaker than her in combat capacity, but at the beginning, it would look like he is a better leader than her. However, he would never really take all the leadership from her, as if demanding her to improve herself. Lauren would be annoyed by his constant challenges, but would eventually be thankful for it. Scott would begin to truly respect Lauren until his dilemma with his family, a point from which he stop being as pushy with Lauren as before. But in my head, I imagine both these guys clashing till the end of the fic.

Lauren and Calvin: Lauren would initially have problems connecting with her team, but Calvin would serve as her first connection, being the most easy-going and open ranger of the team. He would be the one advising her to give it time to connect with the team and that nothing will be perfect, but that it can be better. With him, she would also see how the rangers had qualities that, while may not seem all that useful at first, would become invaluable with time. Of course, he is still Calvin Maxwell, so Lauren would punish him time and time again for his lack of discipline and carelessness. Nevertheless, she would appreciate what he brings to the table and the team.

Lauren and Kira: Kira would easily being the least interested with the samurai past. This would bring clashes between the two rangers, with Lauren being the one the strictest with the samurai way. This would eventually lead to the idea that maybe the rangers have less choice than they think, one of the main themes I wanted to explore. After solving their initial differences, the rangers would get a brutal beat down. Lauren would doubt herself in every step of the way and it would be Kira who lends her ears and time to help her, developing a sister like relationship between the two.

Calvin and Scott: Calvin and Scott would know each other from their past. He would also be the one that understands his position better than anyone else. They would have a few moments in which you could notice that bond between them, but nothing much neither special since Scott is a very reserved person.

Cole and everyone else: There isn't any particular dynamic with Cole and the rest, just like there wasn't any personal dynamic between Bridge and the rest of his team. He would be the odd one, and called out at times for his odd behavior, but would constantly get results.

Trip and Lauren: Lauren would treat Trip very differently, because he lacks the heritage. She would be protective of him, because he is the closest thing to a friend she ever had.

Trip and Scott: Scott would be very demanding of Trip. Scott couldn't help but see himself in Trip, since he was also the weakest member in the team at some point. Scott would demand him to improve a lot and fast, but also be a bit protective for the same reason.

Trip and Cole: Cole would hate Trip. It goes with what I said before about how Trip gets his green hair. Cole would sense that Trip was very different from a normal animal, making Cole feel uneasy by having him in the same house all the time.

Trip and Calvin: They would be similar to the dynamic that Billy and Trini share respectively: Trip would be smart and capable of modifying the zords. Calvin would be the only member with a remote idea of what Trip is doing or talking, giving them a unique form of connection that no other ranger share.

Trip and Kira: There isn't much to say about these two, Kira would be very supportive and happy to have another member not quite as accepting of their new life as the rest, but that's about it.

Mentor: I will be honest; I did not put any thought on Mentor Gi. He will have a bit of development near the end but that would be all. He would have a special connection with Lauren, especially at the beginning, advice the team from time to time and hold a grudge to Trip, but nothing else.

 **Villains.**

There is not a whole lot to talk about here. I would use most of the monsters present in the TV show, with the slight difference that they plans would all be aimed to eliminate the red ranger, some would be too proud and try to eliminate her in a fight, others would simply try to take her out with tricks.

The big change would be Netros, a technology base nighlock. This monster would unlock a way for Master Xandred to fight, while being immune to the sealing symbol, so the rangers would have to be crafty and careful against him.

 **Story by chapters**

 **1 and 2:** Intro episodes. Chapter one and two would see the union of the team and the formation of their key dynamics, while fighting a gas Nighlock that aims to kill Lauren in a one on one fight.

 **3:** This chapter would start with each ranger entering on one on one fight with Lauren, as training. The condition would be forcing the red ranger down. Of the group, only Scott would be able to achieve it, not because he was stronger than Lauren, but that he tricked her to lower her guard. That would be the start of the conflict and, it would only get worse for the red ranger when, on her haste, she would be shot down by the nighlock. Then Scott would take the lead and guide the team better than her. This would be a great hit to Lauren's pride. Gi would explain her that she needs to learn to work with a group, because she can't do everything herself.

 **4:** Lauren tries to connect with the team, but she finds it difficult to connect. It would be up to Calvin and his patience to connect with Lauren. The red ranger would not connect immediately with him, as she finds his flaws need to be ironed out and thinks that he spends too much time with the vehicles and ignores responsibilities thanks to them. Initially, there would be a fight that almost goes wrong because of these facts. But then, I would introduce the first of the extra zords and it would be thanks to the yellow rangers passion with machines and easy going attitude that would earn the knew zord. This was to show that each ranger has qualities that makes them unique, something that Lauren needs to understand and learn how to exploit, but also to show that Lauren has things to teach their fellow rangers.

 **5** **:** This would be the Cole episode. Not much to say here: It would be like the first focus episode of Bridge with the Fernovian, with the exception that it is Lauren trusts on the green rangers instincts, despite how strange they can be.

 **6:** This would be the Lauren and Kira episode and it would start with the introduction of the sword fish zord and Dayum. Cole had noticed for a while that Kira was very uneasy about the mission and had a distaste for the mission, and it would be here that he slips up and Lauren finds out about it. The latter confronts Kira and she explains, yes, she doesn't want to be a samurai. That she would rather do anything else. When Lauren questions why did she kept it in, the pink ranger replies that she couldn't. She imagined how horribly it could go with one less ranger and tells her that none of the rangers would have say no. That they were taught from little to become this. **That they didn't have much option**. This right here would be a recurring question through the story.

After that, on the hunt for the new zord, there is a fight that goes poorly for the rangers because of Kira. Part of the team is down and they would need the sword fish zord to heal the rest of the team but the nighlock is still on the loose. Surprisingly, Lauren orders Kira to go after the zord and capture it with a symbol disk. Kira would succeed on her mission, returning a bit of her confidence, but the question about how much option they had still lingered. I was thinking of using Dayum as an extra motivator for Kira in hter human form, but I am not sure how I would take that idea. Didn't give it enough thought. I also thought about introducing a wishing fountain on Panorama City, a place where one dropped money and had their dreams come true. It would be Kira who tries this.

 **7:** This was the most interesting episode of the starting arc and Decker's intro as an opponent in a fight. After another difficult fight, the rangers succeed, but on the last effort, the nighlock almost got to Lauren if it wasn't for a few blue arrow bolts at the nick of time. The thing was, the origin was not Scott. It was his older brother. Marcus would be able to use his powers, even turn into a ranger with more ease than Scott, but would run out of energy fast and then need to stay in bed for days. In this episode, I would show how poorly the relationship with his father is, something that Kira would take issue about. Calvin would try his best to ease up Scott, but both the pink and the yellow ranger would only make things awkward for the blue one.

As that was happening, Cole would noticed from time to time something wrong with Marcus, as his spirit would change drastically at moments. He would try to tell his brother about it, but Scott wouldn't believe him and even go hostile against Cole. However, on a moment of distraction, the older brother is kidnapped by nighlocks. There would be unease about the idea of Scott coming, seeing that his brother was in danger and that he could loose sight of what is important, but Lauren would be the one to tell everyone to trust Scott. The mission is successful and they return home. Here, I would have Lauren tell Scott that, while Marcus was stronger, Scott was the ranger she counted on. The idea here was to give them a moment of understanding: The last thing Scott would have wanted was a fuss about his family, so Lauren remains the member that brought it up the least and focused only on the mission. It feels a bit forced, since the red ranger is supposed to be socially awkward, but because both of them have the most warrior like personalities, I can see this happening. Then, because Lauren knows why he is much less capable as a fighter than the rest, she would train at night with him.

However, that wouldn't be the end. The episode would end with Cole going to Marcus room at night, unannounced. Marcus would expect him and even threaten him with a sword on the neck. Marcus would then let go a held air, telling that he thought it was a nighlock. Cole then counters by saying that he seems to be prepared for sneaks attack. Marcus would tell him that he is not going to let himself be captured again. That why he is more cautious. Cole is not convinced, but leaves the room anyway. The episode would end, with Marcus seeing himself on a mirror, revealing that he is, in fact, Decker.

 **8:** This episode would be about Cole's mother. On the previous chapters, there would be lines like her mother calling in mid fight or at night, asking how his son was. In this episode she would come and realize how difficult the fight of the rangers were. She would try to take Cole away and, unlike before, the green ranger would be unable to take convince her not to. Lauren is forced to confront her and Ms. Evans tells her that it is not fair for the rangers to not have an option. Here, I would bring how horrible Cole's childhood was and how her mother called the authorities, which sent Mr. Evans to jail. And then she snaps at Lauren, because his son could never have a normal life. That he would always be this half-animal person which some limitations with basic society.

Then, she tells her that Cole is only doing this because, for all his life, he was told this was what he was supposed to do. About that weird connection that didn't let him ignore it. Lauren would then answer that she was right. That she believed that the rangers were stolen from that choice, taking Ms. Evans by complete surprise. Even more, Lauren says that if she could, she would give them back that right. But, right now, the only thing Lauren can do is promise to do everything in her power to protect her fellow rangers. To make sure they all return to the lives that they created. To their families. Even at the cost of her life. Didn't think of an ending for this episode. Not sure what else could Lauren do to earn Ms. Evans approval.

 **9:** Like with episode 7, Kira's parents would come and make a fuss about the situation. This would stress Kira, but by the end of the chapter, she would confront her parents and tell them that she will remain a samurai until the end of the mission. His father, the one against her being a ranger, would ask about the possibility of her not coming back, but Lauren would say that Kira was plenty strong to do that.

The episode then would turn on a scene of the rangers just talking, with Scott bringing up that what Lauren didn't really believe what she said. Lauren would counter that by saying that she believed in every single one of her rangers and that she was sure they would make it out of this. Emphasis on the word they, thought the rangers would not quite notice it.

However, the episode would end with a green haired young man, arriving on Panorama city, accompanied by a gold paper crab.

 **10:** Here would be the introduction of the OC nighlock, Netros, a technology monster created by Serrator. Serrator would serve as a medium to make a deal with Master Xandred. He tells Xandred that he has a way to get him into the fight with the rangers, without the risk of drying up and ignoring the sealing symbol. Octoru thinks there is something fishy about it, but Xandred ignores it. After a few fruitless attempts, Octoru leaves the room and Serrator would mock Octoru, telling him that his time is running out.

This time, the rangers don't learn about the nighlock attack via Master Gi, their detector: they learn it by watching the news, seeing that Master Xandred, the legendary monster was out. They freak out a bit. Why was Xandred out in the real world and not drying? Why did he come out so early, with so little of the Sanzu on the city? Was this the final battle? Either way the rangers went and fought with him. After a rough round, Lauren is able to make the sealing symbol and landed on Xandred, but it doesn't even faze him.

Here, it becomes a slaughter, as the rangers are completely powerless against the nighlock leader, even with their zords Xandred makes quick work of them, all but Lauren who he ignores, saying that without the sealing symbol, she was worthless and that she must see how he rules the world. On the comm, Lauren and Gi talk about using the **alternative** , even if Lauren is against it, she eventually gives up. Gi would then go to a strange room on the Shiba house, with a tube with an lighting bolt inside, moving side to side and constantly changing color. He would lift a hand and the lightning bolt would move more and more erratically. Lauren would then mutter a sorry to her team, giving up. Then, Xandred would start to have a vicious headache. In the distance, the gold ranger appears. Then, he would pull out a phone, press some buttoms and a kanji would appear and crash against Xandred. Before the master of the nighlocks could do anything, he received a third hit and would disintegrate on thin air, leaving only a small metal ball behind.

Lauren would watch astonished at the sight, but her priority were the rangers. Even if every fiber of her being tells her not to, she calls for the families of the rangers, to help her take the half-dead rangers back home, without risking their identities. She managed to take them home and, because Lauren wasn't paying attention, the gold ranger followed them. Once there, he is assaulted by Gi, who manages to turn down his powers and, once he recognized him, pin him against the floor. Then Lauren would see him and remember the green haired boy.

 **11:** Gi would try nearly everything to scare Trip away, but it would prove fruitless. And, to the surprise of all the rangers' parents, Lauren knew the boy and treated Trip nicer than anyone else they had seen her interact. A few hours would go by, when the ranger team would wake up.

Here I would present Trip's backstory. Lauren would narrate that, one random day, the kid was found wounded near the grounds of the Shiba house. While weird, Gi eventually brought him in, gave him help and got someone to take him away, but not before the kid and Lauren exchanged looks. The days passed and from time to time the kid would come, but Gi always told him to leave. Except, one random time, Lauren was the one who greeted and met the kid, despite Gi orders against it. Despite it always ending with Gi scolding them and sending Trip away again, they would meet in secret and became friends. But one day, Trip saw Lauren doing a symbol power, accompanied by the paper lion. That was the last day he ever saw Lauren as Gi reinforced the house, making it impossible for him to get close again. What's more, Trip was forced to move away shortly after.

Trip would then take over, explaining how obsessed and tried to find as much information as possible. And he managed to learn about the legends of the nighlocks and the rangers. Even more surprising, was the fact that he found the Claw zord and even managed to connect himself to the morphing grid with a cellphone to everyone's surprise. He admits that he thought he would be like a knight, saving a captive princess. Lauren would immediately say that she didn't need saving. Once the story was over, however, Trip noticed how late it was and said that he had to return to his dorm. To get a trip to Paronama City, Trip needed to earn a scholarship on their university and needed to maintain it. So he leaves and the team talks about the possibility of bringing him in, with mix opinions.

Meanwhile, Xandred is furious about the fact that his plan was screwed and now, he has the worst headache of his life, enough to force him to his knees. Netros explained that it was a side effect of orb, a necessity to control it better. Netros didn't think that the rangers would be capable of severing the connection, but that it happened. It would be only a matter of time, if they managed to distract or even kill the gold ranger. Netros then leaves the room and Octoru tells Xandred that something is fishy. That he shouldn't use the machine. But Xandred would tell him to go away, that he didn't care.

By the next day, Xandred launches a second attack, this time, Lauren being the only ranger at the beginning against Xandred, who no longer holds anything back. Trip returns and tries the same thing he did the last day, but Netros comes with muggers to distract him. It is here that I would show that his fighting capacity would be around Ziggy's at the start of RPM, if not maybe even lower, so he struggles greatly even against the muggers. And, when Xandred ends up in front of him, he pees on his pants. I am not quite sure how I would solve this conflict. The important thing was that they got another metal ball from Xandred.

The chapter would end with the rangers discussing if they want Trip in. Calvin and Kira want him in, but Gi doesn't and Cole backs it up, explaining that there is something wrong with Trip, something that doesn't feel human. But before they can come to a conclusion, Trip comes in, asks if he has a saying on this and, after getting an affirmative answer, gives them the morpher, the zord and says he quits.

 **12:** The episode would start with Trip on the University/College and getting a surprise visit from Lauren. Trip would explain that, well, he is terrified of Xandred, and doesn't believe himself capable, not considering what the rangers had to deal with. The conversation would then go to Lauren explaining each of the rangers stories and that they all had lives to return to, accidentally guilt tripping the gold ranger. Trip would be a bit angry at that, but then he would ask if Lauren had any life to return to. She remains silent.

The episode would lead to a third and final confrontation against Netros and Xandred, with the rangers getting another two metal balls, one from each Nighlocks. Once that was done, Serrator tells him that, while the real Netros was never on board, that they are loyal to him. Meanwhile, the rangers receive Trip as the sixth ranger of the team.

 **13:** On the aftermath of the last couple of fights, and the fact that Xandred can just use those strange robot orbs to attack, Lauren is extra demanding on her training, beating every ranger up. But, mid training, Trip faints, making her stop suddenly and even snap at Gi on her frustration. After that, Calvin would come up with the idea of a free day for the group to a carnival. The rangers minus Lauren execute a make shift plan that ends up with Lauren and Kira going alone. The pink ranger would barely convince the red one to join her, but she manages. Things would go south as Lauren had never done anything like this, even as far as attacking a person in a lobster costume because she thought it kinda looked like a nighlock.

Kira would then ask Lauren about family, about free days, about how it was possible that she was never in carnival, or tasted cotton candy. It would take a while for Lauren to open up, but she explained she has lived with Gi all her life, without her blood parents, and that everything in their lives was for her preparation as a Samurai. Kira would try to ease up, saying that he shouldn't that strict, that at the end of the day the rangers always win. This would upset Lauren so much that she screams at Kira, only to then look all sorry again.

Here, the red ranger would not take it anymore and say that the rangers had lost before. Here, I would explain the alternative previously mentioned, that, when the red rangers dies, and the sealing symbol is left useless, the alternative would be activated. The ranger powers channel the morphing grid for their zords and weaponry, but the morphing grid only gives as much as needed, reason why the good and the bad guys are always so close on strength to one another. The alternative is forcing more energy out of the morphing grid than necessary, which sends the nighlocks back to the Sanzu river, but at a great cost on the planet. I was thinking of using Hiroshima and Nagasaki as an example. That is why she refuses to waste any more time. But Kira just focuses on reassuring her the best she can, becoming sort of her confident for all her doubts. That was pretty much it for the episode.

About here I stopped thinking with too much detail about the story: I don't let my mind wander that far away because I know I might not get there. The next couple of episodes would be Trip and one ranger focused, to develop their dynamics. After that, we hit season finale, with one more fight against Xandred. But, when the rangers barely defeat one single Xandred, it turns out there are five more out there.

The rangers barely make it out again, as the headache becomes too much for Xandred to take. The rangers regroup and Trip finds a way to fight fire with fire: using the orbs they got from their previous fights on their favor. The first plan was simple: the orb would project a fake team of rangers which would be powered with Symbol energy. In theory, the orbs would still be connected, so each blow they landed on Xandred would be felt by the real monster. But they take it a step further and turn it into a team of five red rangers. After a tough fight, the rangers finally overcome it.

However, Xandred is still not dead, he is in a coma. Both Dayum and Deker try to deliver the killing blow but Serrator stops them, and takes over the nighlocks. I reveal here that, if Xandred dies, all nighlocks die. The episode would end with Trip feeling extremely depressed about something. Because he was aiding the rangers, his grades became worse and worse, until he gets kicked out of the university.

After that, we end with a line from Serrator, saying: Well, isn't this a good discovery? You will tell me everything about the rangers.

* * *

Here, we would have season two. After a couple of months without any attacks, the rangers think that maybe the nighlocks have given up or something. However, at one moment, there is a weird looking nighlock attacking. The rangers beat it, but when unconscious, it turns out into a human. The idea here is to turn the normal people against the rangers, since now they seem to be attacking normal people. The heroes try to figure out what is happening, but another nighlock comes. The team goes to combat it, but they are down to one ranger, as Kira is missing. Mid fight, they find that the nighlock has the pink morpher, which meant that the new nighlock was Kira.

The idea is simple, the wishing fountain was enchanted by Serrator, so people actually got what they wanted (if they were material objects), but then, Serrator can turn them into nighlocks, according to their wishes, they remain nighlock longer. Both Decker and Dayum are special because they had their wishes granted right before they died, so they have some free will and can control their transformations, but they never run out of time. The idea of this is simple: turn the series from a beat them-up to a pokemon like game, where the rangers are forced to just weaken the nighlocks and then do something about the transformation. I was thinking of using the Shark mode form as the cure, which means that only one ranger can do it at a time, so if there are multiple mutated people, it become harder. And, combined with all that, there would also be real nighlocks to confuse them further and make them waste more energy.

The following episodes would be about Serrator trying to force the rangers and their loved ones into getting wishes. I only had one idea for Trip and Cole: It would turn out that Trip's family sent someone to pick him up, since he didn't have a reason to stay in Panorama City if he wasn't going to college anymore (this would join Trip to the theme of family); Meanwhile, on another episode, Cole's father would come back, making both Cole and her mother extremely uneasy, since he is basically a mad man on the loose and probably looking for retribution. Serrator knows exactly what to say to get to the ragners, but all the rangers manage to resist... Except Lauren.

However, her case was special. She meets directly with Serrator and explains him that none of the rangers would give in, because of their heritage and their formation. So, she has an offer for him: Make a fake reality where the ranger tradition didn't existed and, when the game was settle, they returned to the original reality. It would be a competition: if the whole ranger team became heroes even without their powers, then Lauren won. If they didn't then, Serrator wins. If Lauren won, then she wouldn't become his nighlock pet and Serrator would lose his power to make more nighlocks. If Serrator won, then he could do whatever he wanted. So, Serrator accepts.

The new world would have the rangers having living normal lives: Scott would be a professional racer and Calvin would be his head mechanic, Kira would be a famous rocker, Cole would be a veterinarian and Lauren would be a teacher, still living with Gi, but having a much better life. The idea of this is to answer the question, if they weren't trained for the mission, would they still be heroes? Well, in this case, they did and Serrator lost his powers.

But, in a last effort, Serrator turns every person he had in reserve and send an army of Nighlocks after the rangers at once. They fight bravely, but it looks like their time is up. Here, I would reveal that all this time, Trip was Netros, altered by Serrator as a kid that was about to die and that his wish back then was his technological know how. But then, even when all hope is lost, the three half nighlock, half humans save the rangers and, all together destroy a weakened Serrator. Once again, Dayum and Deker would try to kill Xandred, but it would turn out that Xandred is up again. He had awakened a while ago, but Octoroo advised him to wait for the right chance, which would be now. Deker manages to escape, but Dayum is captured and absorbed, to make Xandred inmune to the Sealing Symbo0 and dryingl.

Deker would return to the rangers, but Oh ho, he accidentally turns into Marcus, getting the cat out of the bag. Mr. Truman would freak out, asking that, for how long he has being impersonating his son. Deker would admit that he has done it since he was a baby, when Mason's brother tried to kill him and that the reason why the powers work weird on him is because of his nighlock half. The adult looses it, aiming to kill Marcus. He would have done it, if Scott hadn't stopped him and killed him. The reason is simple: even if Marcus is a nighlock, he is technically his brother, the one who cared for him and lived with him.

This last part of the story would get somewhat depressing, as Scott, having hallucinations for the guilt of his actions, leaves the team for a while. Cole gets hit by a nighlock spell, making him turn into a man that is only animal on the inside. After that, they face a bladed nighlock and, on a big explosion that combined the energy of both sides, both Calvin and Trip disappeared mid fight. Calvin would be the only one that returned. Around here, Lauren would get burn her hands in a fight, which freaked everyone out as it means that the sealing symbol is gone for a while. Lauren decides that it is best to find both Cole and Scott, to do something about them. She also retrains to adjust to the change, leaving only Calvin and Kira ready to fight. But here, after a battle against a random nighlock, Calvin attacks his only and wounded ally.

Here is where things get... Well, it was probably too stupid and wild but I liked the idea: The explosion that made Calvin and Trip disappear sent them back to the past: Calvin would land around the end of the first season, with Serrator finding him. This is how he knew exactly how to tempt the rangers into accepting his wishes, because he got all the info from the ranger that bothered to get to know everyone else. So, Calvin was his slave for half a year, until Serrator is no more and he manages to barely escape. Meanwhile, the Calvin that returned was a Nighlock faking to be him, using his shape shifting powers to trick the rangers. It was key to get rid of Cole before this happened, since he would have detected him. The only other thing that noticed that was his yellow monkey zord, but because the zord attack Calvin regularly it didn't seem that strange to anyone.

But, right on time, Lauren returns with the rest of the rangers, even a near-death Calvin, and the five are reunited. Then... Xandred would appear, not a false one, but the real one. Again, they notice that he is not drying up, but survival was their priority, all of them too weak to do so. Here, they are only saved by their families: Cole's dad, Kira and Calvin's respective mothers and Scott's brother, all using ranger powers.

Once again, the rangers return to the base, more weakened than ever and at their worst, just in time for Trip to come up and cheer everyone up. It turns up, he was sent to the past, back to the times with the original rangers. He is the one that discovered the morphing grid and made every tool they used. In other words, Trip was the green haired wiseman of the story Lauren tells on her intro chapter. On the past, he discovers that when the red ranger uses the sealing symbol and manages to send Xandred away for two hundred years, the red ranger dies. With that revelation, everyone goes to Lauren and Gi and nag at them, telling them that something like that shouldn't be a secret. They also scream at their senior members, but they didn't know a thing. They judge Gi much harder than Lauren, since they know he is the one that forced her to not say anything. Here, Gi can't take it anymore and justifies himself.

It turns out, everyone forgets everything about the red ranger when he dies, only that he existed, leaving them with a void feeling. Here, I reveal the hard life of Gi: Gi has being with every red ranger since the original, as he became ageless because of a symbol power. He raised every single red ranger that has fought against the nighlocks, by himself, and saw how everyone just walked to their deaths. He tried everything, from being nice to them, to being an absolutely insensitive master, but at the end, it always hurt to see another kid he raised die again and again. That he never wanted that. And that he particularly resented Trip, because he blames it for making the ranger powers and, effectively, the curse on Gi and the Shiba family.

However, it would be here that Trip explains that he discovered a symbol that can stop Xandred, without killing the red ranger. Gi would go crazy angry at the revelation, asking why he didn't teach it to the original one. Trip says that he wanted, but that, because he was born in the present and sent back in the past he couldn't. Trip couldn't finish explaining, as Gi grabs him and lift him from the throat. Calvin manages to calm them down and explains that, if Trip was born in the future, and was so smart because of a nighlock, then stopping them so many years ago would break the flow of time and screw everything. In other words, all was necessary.

Once everyone calm down, Trip teaches Lauren the new symbol. After that, we have a scene of Lauren telling Gi goodbye, thanking him for being there for her all those years, even if only training, remembering that, while a difficult and cold teacher, he sometimes showed sympathy for her and warmth. Finally, they fight Xandred one last time. The symbol was supposed to destroy Xandred, at the cost of all the ranger powers, including Gi's immortality. However, when the spell lands on Xandred, he is not disintegrated as expected, thanks to the human half from Dayum. He loses control of the muggers and nighlocks, who seem to have fallen into a coma, but he is still fighting, so the rangers have a final battle against a weakened Xandred, while the rangers have no powers. They win the day, go different ways, with Kira teaching Lauren how to play the guitar.

And that was what I had planned for the story. Sorry again for leaving it behind, but if anyone is interesting on making it true, then take it if you want to.


End file.
